


Joy, Danger, Hope

by JenJo



Category: Marvel
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 18:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10770024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenJo/pseuds/JenJo
Summary: Joy of the past; Danger of the present; Hope for the future.The world is not as it once was. Stripped of all that made it home, those who are left struggle to survive.Any hopes of finding old friends are all but impossible.But some people work with the impossible





	1. I barely remember my name

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as part of my winteriron drabbles series. It got long, and I like it, so I decided to give it it's own story.

 

 

If you had talked to Tony three months ago, asking him where he saw himself,  _ ‘On the run in a superhero underground’ _ would not have even made the top ten. 

Because it  _ wasn’t  _ possible.  _ Right _ ?

Tony thought it wasn’t possible. And then Thanos had shown up, and the world went upside down. 

He didn’t spend more than a couple of hours in any one place, constantly on the move. He had no idea how long it had been like this; he liked to tell himself it was only three months, but sometimes he let himself ponder on the truth.

He hadn’t seen any Avenger since Before. Maybe he passed them on the street, maybe he traded food with them. He had no way of knowing. Sometimes, he couldn’t even remember their  _ names _ , let alone what they looked like. 

_ I barely remember my name most days. _

The world had been stripped of anything usable, before being abandoned. The remaining inhabitants had to scrabble together the barest scraps in an effort to get by. Some times, Tony didn’t eat for a week. But he kept walking, because the alternative was not even thinkable. 

To say that Tony never expected to see anyone he knew again was an understatement; so when he heard his name from behind, he was immediately on the defensive.

He had been walking down an alleyway; a shortcut to the next town and no one for miles both being benefits to this route. 

He spun around, hand already in his jacket, reaching for the knife he kept there. When he saw who it was, his arms dropped limply to his sides.

“Bucky.”

Bucky looked worse than Tony felt, but at Tony’s confirmation, he surged forward, pulling Tony into a hug. 

Tony quickly returned the embrace, turning his face into Bucky’s neck. 

“I can’t…” Tony’s voice broke on the words, pulling back and looking at Bucky. He shook his head, reaching up to trace a finger over Bucky’s forehead. “The same worried lines.”

Bucky smiled, or what could pass for a smile, tapping on Tony’s cheek. “One to talk.”

Tony tried to laugh, but he had long since forgotten how. “I don’t think I quite knew how much I had missed you until right now.”

“You’re not the only one.” Bucky stepped back, reaching down to take hold of Tony’s hand. “We have to stick together.”

“You’re not going to hear any complaints from me. You have a plan?”

Bucky nodded at his left arm, before beginning to walk. “I have a contact, said they’d have some wiring for me.”

“I’ve been looking for wiring for ages.”

Bucky paused, checking the alley’s exit, before they continued. “It’s taken a while. Gonna admit, I was scared of trying to rewire it myself. But with you here…”

“Might have a chance?”

Bucky nodded. “A chance.”

  
  
  


 


	2. “We’ll get through this. I promise.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Questions are asked and answered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In response to the post I made with the previous chapter, I got a message from Wrenchirps on tumblr:
> 
> OHHHH yay postapocalyptic stuff! but i have so many questions! did thanos just leave? why would he leave the avengers alive? why doesn't tony remember? I assume he and bucky were togethe before? the world just belongs to the humans again, even if it's been mostly destroyed?
> 
> I wrote the following in response to those questions

  1. **“We’ll get through this. I promise.”**



  
  


 

There was no warning. Or maybe there was, and they all ignored it? Either way; one day, the earth was spinning. The Avengers were fighting AIM. The sky was blue.

The next, the earth stopped spinning. The Avengers were fighting Thanos. The sky was red. 

It didn’t make sense, there was no time to  _ make  _ it make sense. 

Thanos was clear in what he wanted; he wanted the earth.

But the Avengers, and the earth, weren’t going to go down without a fight.

So Thanos didn’t give them a choice. He had a weapon that targeted anyone with anomalies in their blood. This wasn’t exclusive to superheroes, but it was effective. 

Thanos eliminated any resistance; any who managed to survive knew they had no hope against  _ that _ . So they scattered. Every person left on the earth hid, found a corner to  _ survive _ .

And then one day, Thanos left. No one knew why, but he left, taking with him anything of value. 

So the earth was spared, but left a mere shell of what it once was. Skylines which once housed towers were now bare; technology was all but gone. 

What wasn’t known, was  _ why  _ Thanos left survivors. There was no logic to it; but then again, who could apply logic to one such as him?

In those first days, tt was clear to the Avengers that they could not stay together; such a concentration of ‘anomalies’ was sure to catch Thanos’s attention.

So they made the decision to scatter, knowing that they were unlikely to ever see each other again. 

To the surprise of no one, saying goodbye to family was difficult. Some made a clean cut, leaving in the middle of the night. Others lingered, trying to get every last moment together.

And then there was Tony and Bucky. 

How could anyone be expected to just walk away from what they had? Bucky certainly couldn’t do it. So he avoided it. 

He and Tony walked the same way, slept in the same places, did everything they could to prolong their inevitable separation.

A week, they were able to buy. 

They had slept under a doorway, to the sounds of explosions and rain. Bucky had awoken with a stiff arm, his other still wrapped around Tony. Tony, who was still asleep beside Bucky, head turned into Bucky’s chest. Tony’s face looked so relaxed, the worry not evident on his face. 

Looking at Tony, Bucky could pretend the world wasn’t falling apart around them. Bucky could pretend that the two of them could have their future together, like they had planned. 

 

_ “A summer wedding?” Tony had frowned at Bucky, looking up from his tablet. “Why wait?” _

_ Bucky stared at Tony, expression giving away nothing. “I hate winter.” _

_ Tony blinked, before nodding. “Understood. Summer wedding. First of June?” _

_ “First of June.” _

_ “Five months and four days. I suppose I can wait.” _

_ Bucky laughed, coming to stand behind Tony. He put his arms around Tony’s shoulders, leaning down to kiss Tony’s cheek. “Love you.” _

_ Tony turned his head, kissing Bucky’s lips. “Love you too.” _

 

They got a month together, thinking that they had all the time in the world. So you couldn’t blame Bucky for wanting to get every last moment together he could. 

He probably watched Tony sleep for an hour before Tony awoke, instantly closing his eyes against the early morning sun.

“Yuck,” he muttered, opening his eyes more slowly. “Has the world been saved yet?”

Bucky shook his head, leaning his head down on Tony’s shoulder. “Nope.”

“Bummer.”

Bucky closed his eyes, not wanting to move from his position.

“What’s wrong?”

Bucky sighed, sitting up and looking into Tony’s eyes. “We have to separate.”

Tony shook his head. “No we don’t.”

Bucky reached up, stroking Tony’s cheek. He gave Tony what he knew was the opposite of a reassuring smile. “My arm is beginning to slow. I’m a liability to you.”

Tony shook his head, reaching up to take Bucky’s hand. “That’s why we’ve got to  _ stay  _ together!”

“You know we’ve already pushed our luck staying together as long as we can. Once I start poking around for stuff to repair my arm, I’m going to draw attention, you know that.”

Tony twisted his lips together, clearly trying to avoid crying. “I don’t like it. We were supposed to get married.”

“I know,” Bucky picked up Tony’s hand, lifting it to his lips and kissing the ring there. It hadn’t lost any of it’s shine, still the same brilliant silver it had been when Bucky had first knelt down in front of Tony, heart in his throat.  “And we will. We’ll get through this. I promise.”

Tony shook his head, reaching out to push Bucky’s hair behind his ears. “Shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I’ll prove you wrong then,” Bucky said, leaning forward to kiss Tony. “I’ll prove you wrong,” he spoke against Tony’s lips. “We’ll both get through this, and find each other again.”

Tony followed Bucky as he broke the kiss, getting one last one. He closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath. “We’ll get through this.”

“We will,” Bucky echoed, standing up and holding out a hand. He helped Tony up, and the two pulled each other into a hug. Neither will willing to let go, but eventually they did. 

Both had tears in their eyes as they turned their backs to each other, walking away without another word. Tony walked east, Bucky walked west.

Bucky watched his feet, focused on putting one foot in front of another. He  _ had  _ to find a way to survive; he had a promise to keep. 

~

A week later, Bucky came across a makeshift market. He spent three days there, mostly in the shadows, listening to stories from the people passing through. 

He had found enough material to fix his arm for now, and was more than happy to take a rest. 

His ears picked up a story of some kind of attack sixty kilometres east. Apparently there was a green smoke, and anyone who had been exposed had come out of it in varying states of wellbeing.

Some could remember  _ every _ thing in frightening detail.

Some couldn’t tell you their name.

Bucky listened to every story, hoping with every word that Tony was further away than sixty kilometres; his words still haunting him.

  
_ “We’ll get through this. I promise.” _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)


End file.
